Pedro 3,000 K Update!

Updated: September 21st, 2006

On April 17th, Pedro Martinez reached a monumental milestone when he
defeated the Atlanta Braves for his 200th victory. Now Pedro is closing
in on an even more exclusive club, 3,000 K’s.
The K count is presently 2,997. Pedro has struck out 136 batters in 22
starts so far this season. After a lengthy respite because of a very
sore
calf, Pedro has returned albeit not 100%. Tonight was a positive step however, as Pedro rode a dancing curve and sharp changeup on his way to striking out 7 Marlins over 5 innings. While the Mets have clinched, the September drama for Pedro’s final regular season start coudn’t be anymore charged than it will be next week. Pedro will need only 3 K’s to reach the magic number when he goes against the the same team he garnered his 200th victory against, the Mets’ greatest antagonist over the past 10 seasons, the Atlanta Braves. To make sure you don’t miss this historical moment, keep track of Willie’s rotation for the next week as Pedro’s final start will be at Atlanta on either Tuesday, 9/26 or Wednesday, 9/27.
When Pedro reaches 3,000, he will
be the 15th major leaguer
to accomplish this amazing feat. Curt Schilling was the last pitcher to
reach the magic number. He accomplished the feat just a few weeks ago
at
Oakland when he struck out Nick Swisher in the first inning. Last year
Greg Maddux
reached the rare and special number on 7/26/05 vs the Giants. Goooooooooooo Pedro!

Present Strikeout Total Strikeouts Needed2997 3

*3,000 K Fast Fact

Cesar Geronimo is
the only batter who was the 3,000th victim of two different pitchers.
On 7/17/74, he was the 3,000th batter to whiff against Bob Gibson. On 7/4/80 it was deja vu when Nolan Ryan struck him out for his 3,000th strikeout.